I have heard several families who are currently waiting to adopt from Rwanda say it, but it's true. This week has been hard. The waiting has been hard. Lots of families have been waiting now for over a year. Our dossier has been in Rwanda for 9 1/2 months. We began the process in March of 2010. The waiting seems to be harder now that we are on summer break and I have more time to dwell on it.
People often post verses and messages from scripture that God has laid on their hearts. These are often verses about our calling to help the orphan and the widow and verses about waiting and patience. Patience is tough, you are always told not to pray for patience, 'cause God just might decide to teach you how to be patient.
In our Adult Couple's Bible study class Sunday morning, our amazing teacher read from Colossians chapter 1. He started with verse 9, where Paul tells the church in Collosi, "So we have not stopped praying for you since we first heard about you." Wow. We have not stopped praying for our child since the day we began this process. There are so many of you out there who are joining us and other families in this prayer. Since we first heard of the needs of the orphans of the world, we have not stopped praying. Since we first decided to adopt from Rwanda, we have not stopped praying.
A little further down in verse 11, Paul writes this, "We also pray that you will be strengthened with all His glorious power so you will have all the endurance and patience you need." Again, WOW! ALL HIS glorious power! That's ALOT of power! and We are given this strength to do what? "Have all the endurance and patience you need." I need a lot,let me tell you! Isn't it amazing that He already knows what we need? Endurance and Patience. That's what He gives us, with all of His glorious power.
No, have not yet received our approval, or our referral. Yes, I have become discouraged at times, especially this week as we wait for news. But God has promised to give me endurance and patience.
I will end with verse 12, "May you be filled with joy, always thanking the Father."
Monday, June 20, 2011
Friday, May 20, 2011
"....where you do not wish to go..."
During the Orphan Summit last week (has it really been a whole week ago?) the message that Russell Moore preached Thursday morning really spoke to my heart. He talked about Jesus speaking to Peter shortly after the resurrection. The story was familiar, Jesus asked Peter three times if he loved Christ, and Peter kept saying that, yes, Lord, I love you. We hear that part all the time, and Jesus tells Peter to go out and feed His sheep. We accept that part as Peter being instructed to spread the gospel and minister to the "sheep."
The part of the story that I had never focused on before, was when Jesus tells Peter that now, he can dress himself and go wherever he wants, but there will come a time when others will dress him and take him where he does not wish to go. This is a foretelling of Peter's death by crusfixtion. This was the exact death that Peter had feared the most and this fear was what had prompted him to deny Christ three times previously. Where he did not wish to go. Dr. Moore told us that our calling is sometimes to a place we do not wish to go.
When we began this adoption journey, we had seen lots of beautiful babies and young children dressed in cute outfits, fitting in perfectly with their new American families. It's easy to assume that God could call a family to something like this. But He could also call us to something not so cute. Maybe a child who has a special need. There are so many children out there who need a family, who do not fit so seemlessly and smoothly into the picture. Are they any less deserving of our love?
At this point, after praying about an older child (we are still praying about age) we have also begun praying about a child with special needs. Now, at this point in the process we are limited to conditions we were previously approved for in our home study. I believe it was worded something like "minor, correctable medical conditions." In order to accept a major medical need, we would have to make changes to our home study and re-do some other paper work, and at this point we don't know what that would do to our wait time. We have settled on a condition that we heard, several of the children in our orphanage have, that is club feet.
We have done some research and in many cases, club feet can be corrected either with casting or minor surgery. However, these are still not considered "healthy" children, and up until now, the Ministry has only approved the adoptions of healthy children. This is not to say that it Couldn't happen, just that it Hasn't happened. If this is truly the path that God has led us to, it will happen. If the Ministry tells us no, then, well, I don't know.
Right now we are still waiting on that approval. We may or may not ultimately receive our request for a child with club feet. God knows the child He ordained to be a Vanderpool since before time began. I can't wait to meet him or her myself! We love you little one. We love you exactly the way God made you and we are so anxious to have you home!
The part of the story that I had never focused on before, was when Jesus tells Peter that now, he can dress himself and go wherever he wants, but there will come a time when others will dress him and take him where he does not wish to go. This is a foretelling of Peter's death by crusfixtion. This was the exact death that Peter had feared the most and this fear was what had prompted him to deny Christ three times previously. Where he did not wish to go. Dr. Moore told us that our calling is sometimes to a place we do not wish to go.
When we began this adoption journey, we had seen lots of beautiful babies and young children dressed in cute outfits, fitting in perfectly with their new American families. It's easy to assume that God could call a family to something like this. But He could also call us to something not so cute. Maybe a child who has a special need. There are so many children out there who need a family, who do not fit so seemlessly and smoothly into the picture. Are they any less deserving of our love?
At this point, after praying about an older child (we are still praying about age) we have also begun praying about a child with special needs. Now, at this point in the process we are limited to conditions we were previously approved for in our home study. I believe it was worded something like "minor, correctable medical conditions." In order to accept a major medical need, we would have to make changes to our home study and re-do some other paper work, and at this point we don't know what that would do to our wait time. We have settled on a condition that we heard, several of the children in our orphanage have, that is club feet.
We have done some research and in many cases, club feet can be corrected either with casting or minor surgery. However, these are still not considered "healthy" children, and up until now, the Ministry has only approved the adoptions of healthy children. This is not to say that it Couldn't happen, just that it Hasn't happened. If this is truly the path that God has led us to, it will happen. If the Ministry tells us no, then, well, I don't know.
Right now we are still waiting on that approval. We may or may not ultimately receive our request for a child with club feet. God knows the child He ordained to be a Vanderpool since before time began. I can't wait to meet him or her myself! We love you little one. We love you exactly the way God made you and we are so anxious to have you home!
Friday, May 13, 2011
God is good-All the time!
All the time- God is good! I have to begin with a huge thank you to Jacob and Susan Allee. I received a message on facebook from Jacob Tuesday evening stating that he had won two tickets to the Summit for Orphan Care here in Louisville Thursday and Friday. He and Susan have just brought home two precious jewels from Ethiopia and couldn't attend, did we want them?! This was so awesome because we had wanted to go, but at this point we are pinching every penny and the tickets were rather pricey. So, I got two personal days and Matt took a couple of vacation days, and off to learn more about how our family is about to change we went.
To say it has been awesome is an understatement. Day #1 we enjoyed wonderful testimony from an adoptive mom with 14 kids, two with HIV and one with Down Syndrome. Amazing family! Then we attended a wonderful session on how to keep our marriage strong throughout this process...invaluable info (who's volunteering to keep the kids for our monthly date night? ) We have learned about attachment and trauma and how to help our bio and adoptive children cope. We have learned how to help our family become multiracial and the impact this will have on our children.
We have decided that this will NOT be our only adoption, but the FIRST...where to next???
After all of this info....we got to meet with some of the wonderful staff from our agency and several other adoptive families for dinner tonight. Then it was off to a concert by Sarah Groves...AMAZING! During the concert she and her husband shared their testimony and that they are currently paper-chasing to adopt from Rwanda when they re-open! How cool is that! To top it all off we got to meet her in person and I got to hug this fellow Rwanda Mama-to-be :)
It has been an amazing couple of days and I am so very thankful for all of the opportunities God has provided for us. I am re-energized for the remainder of our wait and have gained a renewed excitement to see what the Lord has in store for our family, both in the near and far-off future.
God is good-All the time!
To say it has been awesome is an understatement. Day #1 we enjoyed wonderful testimony from an adoptive mom with 14 kids, two with HIV and one with Down Syndrome. Amazing family! Then we attended a wonderful session on how to keep our marriage strong throughout this process...invaluable info (who's volunteering to keep the kids for our monthly date night? ) We have learned about attachment and trauma and how to help our bio and adoptive children cope. We have learned how to help our family become multiracial and the impact this will have on our children.
We have decided that this will NOT be our only adoption, but the FIRST...where to next???
After all of this info....we got to meet with some of the wonderful staff from our agency and several other adoptive families for dinner tonight. Then it was off to a concert by Sarah Groves...AMAZING! During the concert she and her husband shared their testimony and that they are currently paper-chasing to adopt from Rwanda when they re-open! How cool is that! To top it all off we got to meet her in person and I got to hug this fellow Rwanda Mama-to-be :)
It has been an amazing couple of days and I am so very thankful for all of the opportunities God has provided for us. I am re-energized for the remainder of our wait and have gained a renewed excitement to see what the Lord has in store for our family, both in the near and far-off future.
God is good-All the time!
Friday, April 29, 2011
Looking forward to Junk Mail!
I keep checking my spam folder in my email. I don't know why, I mean, seriously, it's got to be months yet before we hear anything, maybe closer to a year, but I keep checking it anyway, hoping, just maybe....our file will slip a little closer to the top of a pile on someone's desk.
Great news this week as 9 families travel to pick up a total of 11 more children! That's 22 just in the last couple of months, from our agency alone, not counting all the other agencies and independent families that I don't know of! Just think of those orphanage doors opening week after week and more and more children placed into the loving arms of their waiting parents! Gives me chills!
Please be in prayer for a couple of these families who know their children are currently ill. It's hard enough when we have our sick babies in our arms and under state-of-the-art medical care. Imagine knowing the child you can't touch is sick and under what circumstances? They are in the hands of the Great Physician and He is in control.
So I will go check my junk mail again...and pray that someone on the other side of the world kissed my baby good-night for me.
Great news this week as 9 families travel to pick up a total of 11 more children! That's 22 just in the last couple of months, from our agency alone, not counting all the other agencies and independent families that I don't know of! Just think of those orphanage doors opening week after week and more and more children placed into the loving arms of their waiting parents! Gives me chills!
Please be in prayer for a couple of these families who know their children are currently ill. It's hard enough when we have our sick babies in our arms and under state-of-the-art medical care. Imagine knowing the child you can't touch is sick and under what circumstances? They are in the hands of the Great Physician and He is in control.
So I will go check my junk mail again...and pray that someone on the other side of the world kissed my baby good-night for me.
Thursday, April 21, 2011
what to do....
I know, I know, I am a very bad blogger. I love to read everyone else's blogs but after a long day of work, "writing" is not high on my list of priorities :) But, for our kind friends and family who ask us how the adoption is going, it's going! Not for us specifically at this point, but for many others.
One group of 6 families and their total of 11 children got home last Friday, PRAISE GOD!! There is another group of 8 families leaving May 1 to travel and get their children. More approvals have come through as well. I have seen numbers like 77 and even 91 mentioned on yahoo groups. These are approvals, stating a family has permission to adopt from Rwanda, and the referral, which is info on your actual child, typically comes 2-3 months later. Typically being in operative word :)
One little cog that has been thrown into the works has Matt and I requesting prayer and wisdom. It seems that with all the referrals going out lately, the number of adoptable young children below age 3 has been drastically reduced in the particular orphanage we are working with. The way I understand it, this is the only orphanage in Rwanda that children can be adopted from. This is NOT stating that there is a shortage of orphans in other orphanages, but for whatever reason, only this orphanage allows the children to be adopted internationally. It is AWESOME that so many families have been waiting and these young children and babies now have loving families!
However, few families request children over age 3 and there is a need for families for these children. Could we be a family for a 4 yr old? 4 is the oldest we would consider going, simply because of the ages of our other children, 6 and 4, and we are not sure about having 2 four yr olds. I have read of other families creating these "adoptive twins" and if anyone with such an experience could contact me with advice I would greatly appreciate it.
Maybe God has a beautiful 4 yr old waiting for us in Rwanda. Maybe we are to wait for a younger child. With the millions of orphaned children out there, I assume beds in the orphanage will not remain empty long. We want to do what God wills for our family and at the time we began this process, we felt lead toward a toddler, assuming we would be referred a 2 or 3 yr old. Please pray for wisdom and guidance, and also for patience. It's easy to lose patience with the process and think that we could move ahead faster by increasing our age range, but that very well may NOT be what the Lord has in store for us.
What we know for CERTAIN: we have three beautiful children, a sweet, smart 6 yr old, a cuddly, active 4 yr old, and a lovable little one waiting in Rwanda, be they 4 months or 4 yrs old, only God can lead us.
One group of 6 families and their total of 11 children got home last Friday, PRAISE GOD!! There is another group of 8 families leaving May 1 to travel and get their children. More approvals have come through as well. I have seen numbers like 77 and even 91 mentioned on yahoo groups. These are approvals, stating a family has permission to adopt from Rwanda, and the referral, which is info on your actual child, typically comes 2-3 months later. Typically being in operative word :)
One little cog that has been thrown into the works has Matt and I requesting prayer and wisdom. It seems that with all the referrals going out lately, the number of adoptable young children below age 3 has been drastically reduced in the particular orphanage we are working with. The way I understand it, this is the only orphanage in Rwanda that children can be adopted from. This is NOT stating that there is a shortage of orphans in other orphanages, but for whatever reason, only this orphanage allows the children to be adopted internationally. It is AWESOME that so many families have been waiting and these young children and babies now have loving families!
However, few families request children over age 3 and there is a need for families for these children. Could we be a family for a 4 yr old? 4 is the oldest we would consider going, simply because of the ages of our other children, 6 and 4, and we are not sure about having 2 four yr olds. I have read of other families creating these "adoptive twins" and if anyone with such an experience could contact me with advice I would greatly appreciate it.
Maybe God has a beautiful 4 yr old waiting for us in Rwanda. Maybe we are to wait for a younger child. With the millions of orphaned children out there, I assume beds in the orphanage will not remain empty long. We want to do what God wills for our family and at the time we began this process, we felt lead toward a toddler, assuming we would be referred a 2 or 3 yr old. Please pray for wisdom and guidance, and also for patience. It's easy to lose patience with the process and think that we could move ahead faster by increasing our age range, but that very well may NOT be what the Lord has in store for us.
What we know for CERTAIN: we have three beautiful children, a sweet, smart 6 yr old, a cuddly, active 4 yr old, and a lovable little one waiting in Rwanda, be they 4 months or 4 yrs old, only God can lead us.
Saturday, April 9, 2011
Two more!
Hi all! There were two more referrals this week, both on Friday. In other good news our government decided not to shut down, Praise God! This would have stranded 6 families in Ethiopia, there from Rwanda to get passports and visa for their children to be able to enter the US. If the US government were to shut down, the Embassy would close and this paper work would be unattainable until it re-opened, forcing the families to stay in country with their children. But, the Lord, He is good! They posted today saying everything was on track and it had been a good day of bonding with their kids.
As for us. We are #126. This number will be etched into my memory forever. #71 got approval this week. 55 to go! At the rate things have been moving, it has taken about 3 months to get a referral, once a family is approved. The approval just means the Rwandan government says you are fit to have a child, the referral actually comes from the nuns who run the orphanage. Several families have posted on blogs that it is amazing to see how much the Sisters love our children.
On another amazing note, a family who just got back to the States with their baby girl got an awesomely clean bill of health and she is developmentally right on track! Great news, especially for a child spending months or yrs in an orphanage. Another testament to our Great God and the sweet Sisters who care for our babies.
Spring Break is officially over. One week til CATS testing. Eight weeks left of school before summer break. 55 approvals to go til they get to us...but who's counting? :)
As for us. We are #126. This number will be etched into my memory forever. #71 got approval this week. 55 to go! At the rate things have been moving, it has taken about 3 months to get a referral, once a family is approved. The approval just means the Rwandan government says you are fit to have a child, the referral actually comes from the nuns who run the orphanage. Several families have posted on blogs that it is amazing to see how much the Sisters love our children.
On another amazing note, a family who just got back to the States with their baby girl got an awesomely clean bill of health and she is developmentally right on track! Great news, especially for a child spending months or yrs in an orphanage. Another testament to our Great God and the sweet Sisters who care for our babies.
Spring Break is officially over. One week til CATS testing. Eight weeks left of school before summer break. 55 approvals to go til they get to us...but who's counting? :)
Friday, March 18, 2011
Some exciting news!
Ok, so is it bad when my husband, who is usually the one to say I am spending too much time on the computer, actually stopped me this evening and said, you know, you haven't updated the blog in a while. People read that and follow up on our adoption and you haven't written about any of the new progress.
So, here goes! There are two families (that we know of) in Rwanda RIGHT NOW, and have been for about a week, in process of getting their kiddos. They have posted the sweetest videos and photos on their blogs and it's been so great to see their progress.
There are some families (I don't know the exactly number, maybe 3?) who are traveling NEXT WEEK!!! to get their children. I know of these because they are with our agency, so there very well could be more that I just don't have contact with.
This is AWESOME!! Families and their children being united!
Another noteworthy development is that Rwanda is considering requiring families to travel twice, once to be present for court, and another trip to escort the child home. Ethiopia actually implemented this requirement in January of 2010, which was one of the reasons we chose to go with Rwanda. However, this has not been set in stone yet, so please pray the government decides not to push this. OR please pray about contributing to our adoption financially so that we will be able to travel twice! Either way, HE has this all under control and will provide!
I can't wait to see pictures of more precious little ones redeemed by the love of Christ and by the love of families. Praying for more approvals and referrals next week!!
So, here goes! There are two families (that we know of) in Rwanda RIGHT NOW, and have been for about a week, in process of getting their kiddos. They have posted the sweetest videos and photos on their blogs and it's been so great to see their progress.
There are some families (I don't know the exactly number, maybe 3?) who are traveling NEXT WEEK!!! to get their children. I know of these because they are with our agency, so there very well could be more that I just don't have contact with.
This is AWESOME!! Families and their children being united!
Another noteworthy development is that Rwanda is considering requiring families to travel twice, once to be present for court, and another trip to escort the child home. Ethiopia actually implemented this requirement in January of 2010, which was one of the reasons we chose to go with Rwanda. However, this has not been set in stone yet, so please pray the government decides not to push this. OR please pray about contributing to our adoption financially so that we will be able to travel twice! Either way, HE has this all under control and will provide!
I can't wait to see pictures of more precious little ones redeemed by the love of Christ and by the love of families. Praying for more approvals and referrals next week!!
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